Traditionally, patients in clinical care environments have had to rely on call buttons to notify nurses when they are experiencing discomfort or pain. Oftentimes, because of a reluctance to disrupt nurses in their work, patients will let the pain escalate to such a level that it becomes difficult to control once the nurse is finally notified. Alternatively, although the patient may notify the nurse in time, nursing demands may delay the administration of pain relief to the patient. An alternative to the call button is patient-controlled-analgesia (PCA) systems where a patient self-administers pain relief when needed. These systems are effective when the patient understands how the system works and has the physical strength and dexterity to press the button that delivers the analgesic. However, in those situations when patients lack these requisite capacities, pain control is an ongoing concern.